Wednesday, October 15, 2008

New Bond Song "Another Way to Die"

During yesterday's rant against AC/DC, I was scanning through the iTunes store and noticed for the first time that the official theme song for the next James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, had been released a couple of weeks ago! Not sure how this news got by me, but I quickly paid my 99 cents to give it a listen. I love the title of the track, "Another Way to Die" (in fact, it excites me more than the actual name of the film itself). I also have been a casual fan of both Alicia Keyes and the White Stripes. So far, so good, right?

But I'm not crazy about this tune. It is much too similar to Chris Cornell's effort from Casino Royale, "You Know My Name" - a track which I like, but this new song is too derivative. I also think the track fails to make good use of the beautiful vocal talents of Alicia Keys. Why feature Ms. Keys in the great tradition of Shirely Bassey, Carly Simon, Gladys Knight, and Tina Turner, if you're not going to make her sound like Jack White?

I've often speculated what I would do if I were in charge with the Bond franchise. First, I would keep Daniel Craig as 007. I wish Brosnan had made at least one more film before moving on, but I'm more than happy with what Craig has brought to the part. I also have no problem with Casino Royale, and Quantum of Solace looks to be more of the same (a good thing). However, I have always wanted to see John Gardner's novel Nobody Lives Forever brought to the screen. The plot is simple: SPECTRE has decided 007 must die. The organization places a sizable bounty on his head and every thug in the world has Bond it his/her sights. It is nonstop action with a couple of really great twists.

I also know exactly who I would select to perform the theme song - Bic Runga. Her name may sound like a Star Wars intergalactic bounty hunter, but the New Zealand songstress is sexy, talented, and worthy of global attention.

So for my dream 007 project, I know who would be portraying Bond. I have the plot. I have the song. The next thing would be casting the Bond girls. And I'd be more than happy to audition anyone interested. Feel free to contact me with any head shots, promo videos, or audio readings of the following line, "Oh, James."

3 comments:

I'm not sure Brosnan really got to be the Bond he really wanted to be. And I think his last should have been better. If marketed correctly, it would have done better B.O. biz if folks knew ahead of time it would be his last which might have justified spending a little bit more money to make it a good one.

Both Connery & Moore each did 007 number of films, but Pierce only got to 004.

Oddly enough, when I first read Gardner's "Nobody Lives Forever," I pictured Timothy Dalton in the role since he had just signed to be the new Bond. To this day, I believe that if that book were made into his second 007 film instead of Licence to Kill, Brosnan would never have gotten to play the part at all.